Councilors, students urge public to support amendment to lower voting age to 18

Councilors, students urge public to support amendment to lower voting age to 18

2022-11-22

Besides choosing the next local leaders, Taiwan will head to the polls on Saturday also to vote in a constitutional referendum to decide whether to lower the voting age to 18. The referendum has a high threshold to pass, requiring at least 9.68 million votes in favor. To drum up support for the amendment, the head of the Forward Alliance Enoch Wu, joined several councilors and councilor candidates to sweep the streets on Tuesday. Let’s hear from them.

Enoch Wu
Forward Alliance
As you all know, you can serve in the military as young as 18. Serving is the most extreme show of support for our nation. That’s because we have to swear that we will stand up for our country in battle if necessary. It’s a huge responsibility. So I think 18-year-olds are also ready to vote.

Chang Wei-chian
New Taipei councilor
According to our Civil Code, women can marry at the age of 16 and men can marry at the age of 18. But young people aged 18 cannot run for election. Doesn’t that leave them excluded? I think it’s something we should consider.

Elsewhere, student groups held events to call on people to vote in favor of amending the constitution. According to a survey of 500 people conducted by The Association of Parent Participating Education in Taiwan, 75% of respondents agree to lowering the voting age to 18. That’s in comparison with 15% who don’t agree or disagree, and 10% who oppose it.

力推18歲公民權公投吳怡農帶頭接力車隊掃街

2022-11-22

台灣第一件進入公民複決的憲法修正案"18歲公民權"公投，週六就要登場，門檻得達到968萬有效票才算通過。壯闊台灣聯盟理事長吳怡農也和議員張維倩、議員候選人翁震州、彭一書，接力車隊掃街，要大家力挺青年。

[[壯闊台灣聯盟理事長吳怡農]]
“大家知道在台灣當兵也是18歲開始，當兵是我們國民義務最極端的表現，因為我們宣誓如果必要的時候，要為國家站上戰場，這麼大的一個責任，我們覺得18歲的人已經準備好了”

[[新北市議員張維倩]]
“在我們民法裡面，女生的結婚年齡是16歲，男生的結婚年齡是18歲，但我們18歲青年朋友，他們沒有參政權，他們真的真的要被排除在外嗎，我覺得這一點我們可以好好思考”

師大附中學生代表今天也和青年共學團，站出來呼籲大家投同意，還透過行動劇呈現青少年在社會中的聲音和處境，根據親子共學促進會蒐集的500份問卷和街訪，7成5受訪者同意18歲可以擁有投票權、1成5沒有特別意見，仍有1成持反對意見。

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DPP Taoyuan mayoral candidate Cheng Yun-peng promises to continue work on MRT

DPP Taoyuan mayoral candidate Cheng Yun-peng on Tuesday talked about taking over work on Taoyuan’s MRT system if elected. Cheng said that large infrastructure projects span different administrations, and said projects may be halted if incoming mayors have different ideas. Meanwhile, KMT Taoyuan mayoral hopeful Simon Chang accused Cheng of emotional blackmail, and said voters wouldn’t fall for it. Let’s hear from the two candidates.

President Tsai Ing-wen passes through the ticket gate and hops into a train carriage. Tsai joined Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan Tuesday to lend support to mayoral candidate Cheng Yun-peng’s campaign. While in the city, Tsai inspected work on an extension to the MRT Taoyuan Airport Line at Laojie River Station, which is expected to open in July.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan told us that with Cheng Yun-peng’s help, the city received a lot of subsidies for the airport MRT from the central government. Cheng Yun-peng has also proposed an idea, which I think is pretty good, and that’s the idea of a NT$1,200 intercity monthly transport pass. I was thinking that, when I retire as president and get on with my life, I could buy this pass and go wherever I like.

Tsai endorsed the proposed monthly pass, and expressed praise for the mayor and mayoral candidate. Meanwhile, Cheng Wen-tsan expressed his hope to see Cheng Yun-peng continue work on the airport MRT system, if elected.

Cheng Wen-tsan
Taoyuan mayor
I really hope that that Cheng Yun-peng can finish the second half of the six planned MRT lines in the city, which cover three key centers. The first half I have already put my best effort into finishing. I think he is the best choice for completing the second half.

Cheng Yun-peng
DPP Taoyuan mayoral candidate
Large infrastructure projects are always the work of successive administrations. You can look to Kaohsiung four years ago for an example. That’s a really classic example. At the time, Han Kuo-yu took office as mayor, because the people of Kaohsiung gave him a chance. However, as you can see, when he took over the previous administration’s light-rail project he tried to change the routing, and the whole project came to a halt.

As Cheng Yun-peng was bringing up former Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu to make an example, Han’s wife was with KMT Taoyuan mayoral candidate Simon Chang in the city canvassing. Chang also hit out at Cheng Yun-peng while on the campaign trail.

Simon Chang
KMT Taoyuan mayoral candidate
They say that if you vote for me, this will happen, or that will happen. This is totally a form of emotional blackmail. I don’t think that voters will fall for something like that.

Campaigning continued for the Taoyuan mayoral race on Tuesday, with one candidate emphasizing transportation-related issues. Saturday’s election results will show whether he’s driven his point home.

2022-11-22

Candidates across party lines canvass in campaign trucks with three days to go

Taipei mayoral candidates were out canvassing Tuesday, accompanied by top former and current officials in their parties. DPP candidate Chen Shih-chung called on voters to vote with their hearts, while KMT hopeful Chiang Wan-an promised to help young people chase their dreams. Independent candidate Huang Shan-shan meanwhile said she had the support of young people, and that she expected many young voters to turn out. Let’s hear from the hopefuls themselves.

Vice President Lai Ching-te and former Vice President Chen Chien-jen hold hands with Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung and chant campaign slogans. With only a few days to go in his campaign, Chen Shih-chung is out in force canvassing for votes.

Lai Ching-te
Vice president
I’m here to show Chen Shih-chung my support, and to celebrate three more days of smooth campaigning over 12 districts. I’m here to help usher in the final victory.

Chen Chien-jen
Former vice president
In four days, Taipei will welcome a chance for real change.

Chen Chien-jen boards a bullet-proof campaign truck – a first for the former VP. He follows Chen Shih-chung through the streets of Taipei’s Beitou District, and then on to Shilin District.

Chen Shih-chung
Taipei mayoral candidate (DPP)
All 12 districts are equally important, and we will visit each in order, one by one. I believe the city’s residents have sharp eyes. I hope they will all follow what’s in their hearts, and vote based on what they themselves hope for.

Meanwhile, KMT hopeful Chiang Wan-an was also out canvassing on Tuesday. Chiang set out from his own constituency as lawmaker, accompanied by KMT Chair Eric Chu.

Chu is optimistic about the KMT’s chances in Saturday’s elections, and is reportedly eyeing nominations in April for the 2024 presidential election. A source in the party has claimed Chu wants to block New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih from nomination, but the chair has denied the rumor.

Eric Chu
KMT chair
What a base rumor, what a low thing to say. Is it even worth responding to such nonsense?

Separately, in the city’s Wanhua District, independent mayoral candidate Huang Shan-shan was busy canvassing with city councilor candidate Wu Yi-hsuan. Huang has said she will also be out in a campaign truck.

Huang Shan-shan
Taipei mayoral candidate (Independent)
We’ll do that in the last two days, so we are making plans. We have to apply with the city and register our route.

Things are heating up in the final push for the Taipei mayoral election. This year there will be 45,000 first-time voters in the city, and candidates are clamoring for their votes.

Chiang Wan-an
Taipei mayoral candidate (KMT)
We don’t have very flashy packaging, but we have something very solid. We can help our young voters achieve their dreams in this city.

Huang Shan-shan
Taipei mayoral candidate (Independent)
When I was out canvassing just now I heard a child tell their mother to vote for us. There was also one voter who said their son had returned from Germany just to give us his vote. Young voters are not going to miss out on these elections.

Candidates across party lines are out in full force in the final push for the elections. Whatever happens, all eyes will be focused on the final results this Saturday.

2022-11-22

Railway services on East Coast to resume fully ahead of schedule on Dec. 28

Train services along the East Coast could resume in full before the end of the year, as repairs progress faster than anticipated. Work on heavily damaged areas between Yuli and Fuli are nearly wrapped up and passenger services are scheduled to resume on Dec. 30. That’s 20 days ahead of schedule. But for a while after reopening, speeds will be capped at 60 kilometers per hour.

With a measuring tape, the worker marks the tracks. Using a variety of tools, the engineering team straightens out the railroad.

Heavy machinery was also brought to the scene to move materials around. Repairs are underway on the railroad between Hualien and Taitung, which was damaged in an earthquake on Sept. 18.

The tremor damaged several areas of the tracks between Yuli and Fuli. They include 15 spots along the Siwkolan Bridge, eight piers on the Laklak Bridge, two train platforms, as well as connection points and electrical equipment along the line.

The transport ministry had not expected trains services to resume until next year. But the Taiwan Railways Administration says repairs have moved forward ahead of schedule, meaning services could resume as early as Dec. 28.

Wu Chin-tien
Taiwan Railways Administration
Under orders from the minister, and having taken all safety precautions, we hope to resume services on Dec. 28. Tickets could start going on sale as early as Nov. 30.

The worst damaged part of the tracks was the Siwkolan Bridge. After a discussion among engineers, the repair team decided to use a removal and restoration technique that had never been used before in Taiwan.

Train passenger
Of course it’d be good if it opens soon.

Train passenger
I think it’s been very hard work for them. So I understand. The issue with the bridges is that safety should be the top priority.

Chen Chin-kuang
Ruisui Township head
Transport on the east coast is quite tricky. The railway is an important transport link here. The tourism sector in Hualien and Taitung depends on it. I hope they can resume services soon.

The repairs were done in accordance with seismic preparation guidelines. Speeds will be capped at 60 kilometers per hour for a period after opening. Still, that’s good news for residents in the area, who will finally be able to take the train after more than three months.

2022-11-22

Black-faced spoonbills spotted hunting beside national greenway in central Tainan

Biologists are celebrating the spread of black-faced spoonbills in the wetlands of Tainan. A new national greenway in the Haiwei Road area of central Tainan City is attracting spoonbills. Conservationists say the fish farms on both sides of the greenway draw the birds. Now, for the first time, a flock of about 30 spoonbills has been recorded hunting for food in the area, in a sign of growing ecological health for the city.

More than 30 black-faced spoonbills are hunting on the wetlands. A scene like this once appeared only at nearby Qigu wetlands. But now these images have been caught in Tainan city’s central Annan District, by Taijiang river basin volunteer Hu Chin-wei. Here at the fish farm by Haiwei Road, there’s an abundance of wildlife. You can see egrets and ducks – and now, even black-faced spoonbills. Flocks of spoonbills were once confined to the Qigu area; now, they’re also gracing the Mountains to Sea National Greenway.

Miss. Yeh
Member of public
I’m so happy that animals, plants and humans can co-exist in the city. It’s rare to be able to see so much wildlife.

Voice of Wu Mao-cheng
Tainan Community University
Black-faced spoonbills, ducks and lots of waterfowl all fly over here and you can see all of them.

This area is a historic site, one of the first centers of urbanisation at the Taijiang Wetlands. Over 200 years, the geography here has gone through big changes. Now fishponds on both sides of the greenway are potential habitats for the black-faced spoonbill. The bird comes to Taiwan to overwinter. In recent years, its numbers have grown. A survey from Taijiang National Park, carried out in November, found 4,119 spoonbills across greater Tainan, Chiayi and Kaohsiung – a new record.

Chiu Jen-wu
Tainan Eco Protection Society
This time we found almost 2,000 spoonbills in the Tainan area. On the Chiayi coast we found 1,847.

That’s almost twice as many birds as they found last year. The new greenway at Haiwei Road has preserved the fishpond and wetlands on both sides, giving spoonbills ample space to make their homes, and allowing the public to get closer to the birds. Conservation groups are optimistic, and local people have a greater connection to nature on their doorstep.

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Analysts says TSMC expansion in Arizona will not affect Taiwan operations

An analyst says that TSMC’s planned expansion in the U.S. will not be detrimental for the firm’s plans in the Southern Taiwan Science Park. On Monday, the founder of the chipmaking giant stated that the firm’s planned fab in the U.S. state of Arizona will eventually produce 3-nanometer chips. That’s the same advanced processes planned for Taiwan, which have given rise to speculation that the firm could reduce the scope of its Taiwan plans. The analyst says there is no need to worry. He says that by the time the Arizona plant is capable of producing 3-nanometer chips, the fab in Taiwan will have already moved on to more advanced processes, like 2-nanometer chips, or even chips under 2 nanometers.

TSMC is expanding in the U.S. state of Arizona with a plant to produce 5-nanometer chips. The firm’s founder has confirmed that the second stage for the plant will be to make 3-nanometer chips.

The company itself has not made any comment on the matter. Reports say that, if the firm does move production to Arizona, that could bring changes to the firm’s plans in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, which was expected to become a production base for 3-nanometer chips. Production capacity for about 20,000 chips could potentially be transferred to the U.S., making the Taiwan plans smaller. That could have a knock-off effect on real estate due to the transfer of workers to the U.S. TSMC has not rejected or confirmed the reports. An analyst says there is no need to worry.

Ray Yang
Industrial Technology Research Institute
By the time the plant in Arizona starts mass-producing 5-nanometer chips, Taiwan will already be producing 2-nanometer chips. So by the time the Arizona plant produces 3-nanometer chips, I think Taiwan will already have entered 2-nanometer-chip production. Or even chips under 2 nanometers.

The expert says that although TSMC is subject to much geopolitical pressure, its R&D, as well as its upstream and downstream supply chains are all in Taiwan. With production costs being much lower in Taiwan than in the U.S., it’s unlikely to abandon Taiwan. Over on the stock market, investors are optimistic about the chipmaker. TSMC shares on Tuesday continued rallying to close up NT$9 at NT$491.

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Spotlight on biotech company founder, Madhu Cherukury

Immigrants from all over the world come to Taiwan where they find work, start families, and contribute to making the island so special. In today’s installment of “An Immigrant Story,” we meet Madhu Cherukury, an Indian man who founded a biotech company in Taiwan. The company’s specialty is developing drugs to treat diseases that affect the eye’s retina. FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to Cherukury about being a founder in Taiwan and some of his latest projects.

This is Madhu Cherukury, the founder of a biotech company in Taiwan. The company develops medicines that treat diseases affecting the eye’s retina, a thin layer of tissue on the inside back wall of your eye. The team currently has two projects undergoing clinical trials. One is an eye drop for dry eye disease.

Dr. Madhu Cherukury
Biotech company founder
A small molecule in-licensed from Allergan for treating dry eye disease. It’s also quite an exciting molecule. We are conducting clinical trials and testing safety and efficacy of these molecules in dry eye patients for treating for a three months period. We are expecting key clinical results this year in December.

Another project involves developing a drug to treat retinal diseases, such as diabetic macular edema and neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Dr. Madhu Cherukury
Biotech company founder
Biologics is a protein program. A single molecule with two targets. Anti-VEGFs and anti-integrin. The anti-integrin portion of the molecule was in-licensed from NCKU in 2015. This molecule was designed to treat unmet medical needs in retinal diseases such as such as diabetic macular edema and neovascular age-related macular degeneration. This molecule is expected to improve the vision in retinal patients and prolong the effects and stop the disease progression. Currently, this project is in clinical trials. Testing the safety and efficacy of this drug. We are expecting the clinical trials in the end of the first quarter, in 2023.

Cherukury was born and raised in India. After receiving his PhD, he went to the University of Kansas Medical Center in the U.S. to complete his postdoctoral training in pharmacology and toxicology. After this, he joined the pharmaceutical industry. He then spent over 30 years developing new drugs for ophthalmology and central nervous system diseases at global companies. He first came to Taiwan in 2014, where he served as a director at a pharmaceutical company. He then founded his current biopharmaceutical company where he currently serves as the CEO. He leads a research and development team to develop medicines to treat retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, dry eye, and diabetic macular edema.

Dr. Madhu Cherukury
Biotech company founder
I came to Taiwan in 2014. At that time, I was kind of concerned about Taiwan, and the language barrier. Fortunately, many Taiwanese speak English so it was not the case. Afterward, it was quite exciting to work with scientists here. I am very happy to develop the medicines, what we have today. I am quite excited about drug development. Taiwan has an excellent pool of scientists, an ecosystem and strong government support to increase new innovations. I felt I can take the advantage of Taiwan ecosystem and create a new drug development company in Taiwan and achieve the goal.

Cherukury says he hopes to continue to work with his team in Taiwan to develop new drugs to help treat more patients around the world.

2022-11-22